Fr. Nicholas Gruner: Withdrawn from men’s hearts

On July 13, 1917, the young Fatima visionary Lucia dos Santos asked Our Lady to “work a miracle so that everybody will believe that you are appearing to us.”

Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary to the day of Our Lady’s response; the great Miracle of the Sun – a supernatural event that caused many, though not all, to believe.

In more recent decades, no one labored more diligently to make certain that all may come to believe that the Mother of Our Lord truly appeared at Fatima than one Father Nicholas Gruner. Likewise, no one did more than he – the Fatima priest – to remind the world of her messages, her warnings, and her requests.

The Devil, for his part, wants nothing more than for us to forget, and on this note, we must admit that he is having some success.

Every time the truth about Fatima is interspersed with poisonous lies by influential men, something that happens far-too-often, surely the hand of the Master Deceiver is at work.

As I write, nearly two-and-a-half years have passed since Our Lord called Fr. Gruner home, and the Devil, for his part, wants nothing more than for us to forget him.

In early September, Fr. Paul Kramer posted on his Facebook page the photo below, taken on 28 August 2017, of the burial site of a person all-but-forgotten; marked only by three small statues put in place by heartbroken friends of the anonymous deceased.

Though some of you will find it difficult to believe, this is the place where the earthly remains of Fr. Nicholas Gruner – the man who labored day and night in service to Our Lady for decades on end – were laid to rest well over two years ago.

Until now, I have held my peace on this scandalous story. Word had it at the time of Fr. Kramer’s post that a headstone had already been ordered and was on its way, and I had hoped that the situation would be resolved in short order.

Also, given that we have no idea why this great man to whom so many owe a debt of gratitude is interred in an anonymous grave; without even so much as a simple in-ground marker, my concern was, and still is, that some readers, though justifiably outraged, may presume to lay blame on the innocent. Please keep this in mind.

That having been said, six more weeks have since passed.

“Let care be bestowed upon funerals and the erection of monuments; for Holy Writ reckons these among good works.”– St. Augustine

Yesterday, I received the photo below; taken by someone who wished, on the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, to pray at the gravesite of the Fatima Priest – to recall and to pay tribute to him, and to beg the aid of Our Lady in this late hour.

As you can see, nothing has changed. Well, almost nothing…

Notice the condition of the statues of Our Lord and Our Lady; in particular the latter, even though the “generic” angel statue remains unblemished. It is unclear what the black soot-like substance is, exactly when it showed up, and how it got there.

Even so, we can be certain that the same Devil who desires that Fr. Gruner and his life’s work be forgotten, is delighted to see the faces of those statues, so lovingly placed by his faithful friends, soiled in such a way.

“The only reason why the name Memorials or Monuments is given to those sepulchres of the dead which become specially distinguished, is that they recall to memory, and by putting in mind cause us to think of, them who by death are withdrawn from the eyes of the living, that they may not by forgetfulness be also withdrawn from men’s hearts.” – St. Augustine

May it please Our Lord and His Blessed Mother to hasten the day when Fr. Gruner’s gravesite will at long last reflect the dignity of the man whose remains are there interred; that he may never by forgetfulness be withdrawn from our hearts.

Latest Comments

Wow! after visiting the Fatima site yesterday to see what they may have posted, I was most dissapointed to see the photos of their visit to Fathers gravesite, there was no picture of his grave, now I can see why. It’s an outrage! Causes one to wonder if They are embarrassed by it or simply don’t wish for anyone to visit him.

Thank you for posting this, now I know how to find him, in the near future I plan to drive to the east coast, my plans are to visit Fr Gruner at his grave along the way. but never did I expect that his grave was unmarked, n thanks to Fr Kramer for posting.

This is an outrage. I can’t believe Fr. Kramer failed to take any effective action to give Fr. Gruner a proper headstone. Why has Fr. Kramer been so negligent? Wasn’t he on the board of the Fatima Center, as a sort of spiritual adviser? Yet he failed to see to it that Fr. Gruner was given a proper headstone, and has further failed to ensure that the statues were kept up? What a disgrace. And Fr. Kramer claims to have been a friend of Fr. Gruner? Some friend he is.

No, he was not on the board as spiritual advisor of Fatima Center, he was for Servants of Jesus an Mary. He is not to be blamed, he is as much disappointed as you are, that is why he made this public. You need to direct your questions to Miriam Gruner and the executives at the Fatima Center and not Fr. Kramer, remember if Fr. Kramer had any say over the Fatima Center then he would not allowed himself to have been kicked out of the Fatima Center.

I don’t know what the corporate structure is of the Fatima Center vis-a-vis the Apostles of Jesus and Mary, but Fr. Kramer was certainly a Director of the Fatima Center. If you deny that, take a look at the inside of the back cover of the Spring 2017 issue (issue #118). There you will see Fr. Kramer listed as one of the five U.S. Directors of the Fatima Center, and the only priest Director!
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So I will say it again, I am shocked – shocked I tell you!!! – that Fr. Kramer refused to take any effective actions, as the only priestly Director of the Fatima Center, to ensure that Fr. Gruner had a proper headstone. What kind of spiritual leadership was that? Seeing such weak spiritual leadership, it is no wonder he was given the boot. Kudos to the Fatima Center for taking effective action against Fr. Kramer for his willful negligence, and shame on Fr. Kramer for what he did to Fr. Gruner (RIP).
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The only question I have is why Fr. Kramer – the only spiritual director for the Fatima Center, mind you – intentionally shirked his spiritual duty ? Was it because he wanted Fr. Gruner’s memory to be “withdrawn from men’s hearts,” and completely forgotten?
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Keep these tongue-in-cheek comments in mind when you see Fr. Kramer or his followers trying the paint the “NewFatima Center” in a bad light over this matter, since he is AT LEAST as responsible as anyone else, if not more so.

So, you start your diatribe with admitting that you have no idea of the corporate structure of the Fatima Center, and then go on and on about about how Father Kramer is somehow responsible as being part of the structure you initially admit to knowing nothing about. Interesting.

JPetersOctober 15, 2017

Dave41,

Saying I have no idea about the corporate structure of The Fatima Center vis-a-vis the The Servants of Jesus and Mary, means only that I have no idea if The Fatima Center is under the umbrella of The Servants of Jesus and Mary, as a sort of subsidiary. But whether it is or not, Fr. Kramer was certainly a Director of The Fatima Center. That means that if the Fatima Center – i.e., those who run it – is to be blamed for not giving Fr. Gruner a proper headstone, Fr. Kramer is as much to be blamed an anyone. Hence, Fr. Kramer and/or his followers would be complete hypocrites to spin this by implying it was the fault of The Fatima Center, while excusing Kramer.

Dave41October 21, 2017

@ JPeters

Freudian slip with the “Kramer” at the end of your comment? It seems rather un-Christian that you would definitively accuse FATHER Kramer of holding responsibility for this scandalous, unnecessary treatment of a good, holy priest.

Father Gruner did not believe Francis was Pope. The Fatima Center has not addressed this fact. What say you?

TheresaOctober 14, 2017

How deeply saddened I am by this …there really are no words sufficient to express my shock. The Fatima Center could certainly request assistance through fundraising…a widows might from each could help. I certainly hope the gravestone is really on order and just delayed. Our Lady of Fatima, Ora Pro Nobis, May Fr Gruners soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God,rest in peace. amen

Well, let’s get this party started. I’ll put up the first hundred bucks. Who will match me? We should be able to put two or three thousand dollars together in about 3 days. Let’s get it done. I have a wholesale source of exterior statuary. We’ll put a life-size Our Lady of Fatima out there. What will the cemetery allow?

The kindness of our readers is commendable and does not surprise me in the least.

However, while I am hard pressed to come up with a plausible reason as to why poor Fr. Gruner is in an unmarked grave after nearly two-and-a-half years, my understanding is that a lack of funds is not it.

It must be that Fr. Kramer wants Fr. Gruner to be forgotten. That’s why he adamantly refused to take any effective actions to have a proper headstone put in place, and has left poor Fr Gruner with an unmarked grave. This is an outrage. I cannot believe Fr. Kramer has done such a thing.

JPeters—Please excuse my ignorance in this matter. Can you state why the blame for this outrage is at the feet of Father Kramer. Did he make this decision on his own? If so, why would those involved with the Fatima Center not stand firm and provide a fitting memorial to “The Fatima Priest”. Do you have first-hand knowledge of this? I do not know Father Kramer personally nor do I know anything about him. Therefore, I’m not asking these questions in his defense. Please enlighten me and others who may have the same questions. Thank you. In any event, Father Gruner is not forgotten by Our Lady. Let us take comfort in this indisputable fact. Father Gruner RIP

Did no one realize what I was doing? I was making a point since this appeared to be a transparent attempt to shine the Fatima Center in a bad light. “The evil ‘NewFatima Center’ is not only supporting those who are distorting the Fatima message like Cardinal Burke, but they are also dishonoring the memory of poor Fr. Gruner by burring him away in no-man’s land without as much as a respectable headstone. Shame on the NewFatima Center!”

In response, I spun these events by placing the blame of Fr. Kramer, who I suspect is behind this effort, since he recently got to proverbial boot from the Fatima Center.

It is easy to blame others, but what has Fr. Kramer done to remedy the situation?

And Louie, why haven’t you commented on what I posted in the other thread about heaven accepting Pius XII’s consecration of humanity, even though it did not meet the conditions of Our Lady of Fatima? According to Sister Lucy, because of this incomplete/”compromised” consecration, heaven brought WWII to an end.

This is an important point in light of your recent criticism of Cardinal Burke since it PROVES that a consecration can be “accepted by heaven” even if it does not meet the specific requests of Fatima, which is something that should have been obvious to begin with. Please comment on this. I would be interested to know if you now believe John Paul II’s 1984 consecration of the world was “accepted by heaven”? And if not, why?

Wrong, JPII was the Pope. Sede-vacantists such as yourself are complete ignoramuses (if you doubt it, read In Caritas’ idiotic comments) who have allowed yourselves to be duped by con men. I am more than happy to engage you over the SV issues, but I doubt it will do any good since fallen away Catholics, such as yourself, are usually blind and hardened in their errors.

Is your point, Jpeters, that Cardinal Burke, was technically right, in “jesuitical” sense, when he said that the consecration was “accepted by heaven”? You should realize that, in context, the phrase is misleading.

I’m not an apologist for Cardinal Burke, but there’s no question that saying a Consecration has been “accepted by heaven” is not equivalent to saying the same Consecration “met the specific requirements of Our Lady of Fatima.” Those are two distinct propositions and are not dependent upon one another. Therefore, is not a form of false Jesuit casuistry to make this valid distinction. On the contrary, it is a sign of ignorance, or stupidity, to hold that a Consecration will only be “accepted by heaven” if it meets the requirements of Fatima.
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Furthermore, since, according to Sister Lucy herself, Pius XII’s consecration of “humanity” was accepted by heaven and brought about a temporal favor, there is nothing wrong with saying John Paul II’s 1984 Consecration was also accepted by heaven, and brought about some kind of temporal or spiritual favor, as John Vennari himself claimed in his CD, “Our Lady of Fatima and the New World Order.”
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Regarding Cardinal Burke, give the man a break, for heaven’s sake. It obvious that the scales are falling from his eyes and that he is gradually coming around. Also keep in mind the difficult position that he is in. He has to walk a tight rope concerning this issue, while no doubt being attacked by ten times more demons than all of us combined. For him to admit that the Consecration has not been performed exactly as Our Lady requested and publicly calling for it to be done as requested, is a huge step in the right direction. This is not a negative, but a positive – even if we can sense a certain hesitancy to completely buck the party-line, due, no doubt, to the tight rope is he walking. I say give the man a break. For our part, instead of attacking him, we should support what good he is doing, while continuing to speak the complete truth with clarity. That’s what the Remnant is doing and I agree with that approach.
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We can discern that the approach of The Remnant is correct if we apply to rules of discerning the spirit taught by St. Ignatius. When someone is going from bad to worse, the influence of the bad angel is light and, in a sense, encouraging, while the influence of the good angel is harsh and shocking to them. On the contrary, when someone is going in the opposite direction – improving (like Cardinal Burke) – the good angel is encouraging, while the bad angel attacks them harshly. If we are attacking Cardinal Burke, who is clearly moving in the right direction, we are acting like the evil spirits. If we encourage him in the good that he is doing, we are acting like the good spirit. The Remnant is acting like the good angel.
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Another point is that The Remnant is not changing its approach. Michael Matt has always reached out to those who are leaning towards Tradition by encouraging them in an attempt draw them in and help them along the path (like the good angel).
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One example that comes to mind is a certain Novus Ordo defender of Vatican II who used to have a website dedicated to “harvesting the fruits of Vatican II” (what was that guy’s name again?). When that person began leaning towards Tradition, and was cut off from his Novus Ordo colleagues as a result, Michael Matt and others embraced him. They saw him moving in the right direction and did what they could to support him and encourage him – just like they are doing with Cardinal Burke.
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Can you imagine how “akacatholic” would have reacted if it was around back then? Michael Matt, John Vennari, Chris Ferrara, and the rest would have no doubt been denounced for committing the sin of “distorting Traditional Catholicism” by welcoming this Vatican II supporting compromiser. After all, his website was called “harvesting the fruits of Vatican II.” The Remnant embraced a man who sought to harvest the rotten fruits of an evil council? I’m just glad akacatholic wasn’t around back then. The Remnant may not have survived the barrage of attacks leveled against them for “distorting Traditional Catholicism” by supporting that Vatican II-supporting compromiser.

How is Cardinal Burke improving? He stands for everything that this site (a NON sede site btw) is against. Are you saying that this site is going in the wrong direction?

John314October 15, 2017

JPeters—solid, well written post. You made a good case for your position.

JPetersOctober 15, 2017

Rich,

Do you really think Cardinal Burke stands for EVERYTHING that this site against? Skipping over dozens of examples I am thinking of right now, I will address only one.
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Is this site against the Pope consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, EXACTLY as was requested by Our Lady of Fatima? This is what Cardinal Burke is publicly advocating. Here is what he said: “it is also my belief that, given the situation in which we find ourselves today, the consecration of Russia must be done explicitly, exactly as Our Lady requested .”

If what you wrote were true, this website would be against the Pope consecrating Russia “explicitly, exactly as Our Lady requested.”

richOctober 15, 2017

JPeters
When it comes to Burke, there is SO much more to concern ourselves with than simply the Fatima issue. Im not even a part of the SSPX anymore, and even I took offense to what he said regarding the order. I wont excuse men in the (v2) hierarchy, like Burke, who STILL defend modernism. He’s way too old and intelligent to get passes from supposed traditional Catholics. You dont have to be a sede to know where Burke is coming from.

Helenrose234October 15, 2017

Do you mean the Cardinal Burke who has excoriated the SSPX, lying about their status? He’s no friend of Tradition!

JPeters –
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to comment here as often as one might imagine. Much less do I have a desire to police comments.
This post pints fingers at no one; in fact, I specifically stated my desire that readers refrain from doing the same.
You are a hair away from getting the boot.

The condition of the grave and the absence of attention to either Fr. Gruner or John Vennari, and the perfunctory attention to Our Lady of Fatima on this anniversary, increases my suspicion that in the deaths of both Gruner and Vennari there may have been some form of foul play involved in their deaths.

If I can help I would. After reading the comments it’s seems to be out of anyone’s control. I can only suggest a spray bottle of bleach and water that will kill the black mold, followed by a concrete sealer once dry. It is so far away from me otherwise I’d do it. What’s wrong with the Fatima Center? This is so disrespectful of the dead. SHAME SHAME SHAME !

Ron G, perhaps you missed this blog of Louie’s:https://akacatholic.com/whats-going-on-at-the-fatima-center/
It explains that there has been a problem with the “Fatima Center.”
The Servants of Jesus and Mary in Constable, NY, is trying to keep Our Lady of Fatima’s (which is also Fr. Gruner’s) true message intact, while the Fatima Center is distorting the truth. The two ( Fatima Center and Servants of Jesus and Mary) were until recently one and the same organization, one based in Canada (Fatima Center) and based in USA (Servants of Jesus and Mary). They had recently split, both saying the other is the “bad guy.” But the truth is that the Servants in USA are the ones fighting to keep the true message alive.

JPeters seems to have some info re the Father Kramer connection to this scandal. When he answers my honest question above, we will be enlightened. If he is silent on this, then he has no good answer. Let’s see!

All of this debate about Cardinal Burke is not relevant here. The primary question is why has not Fr. Gruner’s burial site been properly marked and honored in his death? What is really behind this grave scandal? It is so horrific, one cannot even take it in!! What does it really mean? It is like some kind of cover-up of something is going on~~~~~. Was there an autopsy done at his death? Does anyone know?

As I implied above, the lack of attention to his person and to his courageous advocacy of Our Lady during his life, indicates that foul play was likely involved in his death. The absence of an autopsy is further support for that argument. In fact, I would suspect a conspiracy which forces silence on those involved. My mother was brutally murdered. The police denied it. I found missing: money, radio, coo coo clock, and most importantly, her teeth. I begged for an autopsy but none was done. Do I believe there was a conspiracy involved in her death? You bet I do!!!

Thank you, Dave and Mary, for your replies!
Mary, I am so sorry for your tragic loss —
Perhaps one good that is coming out of it is that you have been given “eyes” to see – or rather see through – many things —
Your comment about silence being forced on those involved leads to wondering if this would also imply silence must be kept by those who know what happened — even out of fear for themselves — and perhaps this is why Fr. Gruner is not honored by his own.

@Fatimagirl13
One thing I failed to mention is that the type of death Fr. Gruner experienced, that is, alone, sudden, no discernible cause of death, no previous illness, these conditions practically require an autopsy. The only possible explanation for the absence of one must be political.

richOctober 15, 2017

Cardinal Burke, while not necessarily being relevant to the fact that Fr. Gruner has no headstone (which is nuts), is certainly relevant in the big picture.

J peters you are very fortonate to be able to make a comment for the Remnant ,
and bla bla bla all your hatred here . But try making a comment on Remnant , and if
you don’t totally kiss up to them , well then comments are simply not allowed but censored. So why don’t you take your comments back there where they will be more
appreciated,

While this post has nothing whatsoever to do with Cardinal Burke, and I don’t want to derail it any further, I do feel compelled to point out for the benefit of those who may be confused:

JPeters: I’m not an apologist for Cardinal Burke, but there’s no question that saying a Consecration has been “accepted by heaven” is not equivalent to saying the same Consecration “met the specific requirements of Our Lady of Fatima.”

Problem is, Cardinal Burke said much more than this. He adamantly endorsed the fake letter attributed to Sr. Lucia making precisely the claim: “Yes, it [the consecration of Russia] has been done just as Our Lady asked, on 25 March 1984.”

Don’t be fooled: This “accepted by Heaven” argument is but a diversion.

Dear Louie:
Love your blog and fully support your efforts and ministry.
However, your position as to comments …..
“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to comment here as often as one might imagine. Much less do I have a desire to police comments”
……will have to be addressed sooner or later.
This is your blog. You don’t have to allow anyone to say anything about anyone at anytime. IMHO, some folks need to be put on notice.

Very sad. I discovered Fr Gruners Fatima Crusader in the 80s and until then knew very little about Fatima. Only then did I learn about the Consecration of Russia and the Third Secret. Fr Gruner was a tremendously brave man horribly opposed by the Vatican. His death came at a convenient time for the NO establishment as no doubt he would have continued to identify Francis with the Bishop in White of the Third Secret as believe Benedict is the true Holy Father.
Requescit in Pace. Ora Pro Nobis